HoodedHawk

A company in Portland, Oregon (naturally), Renovo Hardwood Bicycles, makes these absolutely beautiful bikes out of hardwood. They use special computer-controlled machines to carve the wood (and the frame is also hollowed out). They only weigh about 20 lbs. The ride is supposed to be really smooth as the wood dampens vibrations. Just way cool! No price listed, but since each one is custom-made (out of ash, cherry or purpleheart), I’m thinking not cheap.

The boys and I went to see a production of Macbeth this past Sunday. It was by the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company, based in Ellicott City, MD. The venue is a small theater (seats about 100). Acoustics are good, and I didn’t have any problem hearing the actors. It didn’t hurt, I guess, that we were in the front row. :)

The actor playing Banquo came out into the lobby before the play and using pictures and diagrams he explained the play to the kids. I like that part, since it at least gives them a fighting chance to understand what is going on (since even I have a hard time following spoken Shakespeare; an eight-year-old gets lost quickly). The play was very well-performed. I hadn’t seen Macbeth performed before so I can’t compare it to a like performance, but this acting company is excellent. If you can’t make it to Macbeth before it ends in December, I can definitely recommend any other productions by this company – I’ve been to 3 or 4 now and have never been disappointed.

Kirsten and I went to see 33 Variations Sunday night at the Arena Stage in Washington, DC. The play, written and directed by Moisés Kaufman, is about a present-day musicologist (Katherine, played by Mary Beth Peil) who (despite her daughter’s objections) travels to Bonn for research on Beethoven’s 33 Variations on a waltz by Anton Diabelli. The daughter, Clara (played by Laura Odeh) begins an initially awkward relationship with her mother’s (male) nurse Mike (played by Greg Keller) and they both eventually follow her mother to Bonn.

The staging of the play is great – for example while a librarian in Bonn is showing Katherine a manuscript of some of the variations, the stage behind the actors shows a projection of the manuscript, with the portion of the text highlighted. Musical accompaniment on stage is by Diane Walsh on piano – she times the music perfectly with the performers. The music is great (hey, it’s Beethoven!), and I picked up a CD by Diane Walsh while there.

The play is at times poignant, as mother and daughter come to terms with the mother’s wasting disease – and at times hysterically funny, as when Clara and Mike go out on a first date.

I really enjoyed this play (as did Kirsten) and highly recommend it. It runs through September 30, 2007.

Yesterday I went to the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. to see the Desiderio da Settignano (c. 1429–1464) exhibit. Desiderio was a Renaissance sculptor, working in Florence. It’s a small exhibit (just 2 galleries), but the sculptures on display are wonderful. The details in the busts, especially of children, make them seem so lifelike – almost like a cast was made directly from a real person. Photography wasn’t allowed in the exhibit, but it is allowed in the rest of the (permanent) collection. I wandered about after looking at the Desiderio exhibit, and I’ve put some pictures online. I’d been to the East Building a number of times, but this was the first time (that I can recall) that I tried the West Building. Well worth a visit – and like most of the National museums it is free.

I especially liked Titian’s portrait of a gentleman (see below). I love the expression on the man’s face.

Giorgione and Titian: Portrait of a Venetian Gentleman, c. 1510

Spanish Lady